Brief Bio

Christina Schwarz (Ph.D. 1998, U.C. Berkeley) is an associate professor of science education in the Teacher Education department at Michigan State University. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in science education and science and has been the elementary science subject area leader for MSU’s teacher preparation program for over eight years. Schwarz holds degrees in science, math, and technology education from the University of California at Berkeley (PhD and MA) and in earth, atmospheric and planetary science from MIT (BS). Her background includes conducting research in astronomy, designing curriculum materials for science learners and teachers, and working in classrooms with students and teachers. Schwarz’s research primarily focuses on enabling students and teachers (PK-16) to understand and engage in scientific practices – particularly model-based scientific inquiry. She also works with beginning teachers to support and enhance their practices such as noticing and responding to scientific sense-making. She is the principal investigator for the NSF grant, Studying How Beginning Elementary Teachers Notice and Respond to Scientific Sense-making, the co-principle investigator for the NSF-funded project Supporting Scientific Practicesin Elementary and Middle School Classrooms and was co-principle investigator of the former Learning Progression for Scientific Modeling project. She is also co-principle investigator of the NSF funded Head Start on Science preschool science project and was Co-PI for the Modeling Hydrological Systems in Elementary Science project. Schwarz received the MSU College of Education Excellence and Innovation in Teaching Award in 2005, has been an associate editor for the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, and has published articles in journals such as Cognition & Instruction, Science Education, the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, the Journal for Science Teacher Education, and Science & Children.

Interests

My areas of expertise include: science education and teacher education across the spectrum including preschool, elementary, middle school, and college. I focus on inquiry-oriented and model-centered constructivist learning environments. My research involves studying the development of scientific modeling practices particularly within upper elementary and middle school. I have also been working with educators (PK-16) to understand and engage their own students in the practices of science. Some of my teacher education work involves developing teaching practices through instructional frameworks, learning technologies, and curriculum materials. Additional interests include curriculum materials in science, technology in science education, the history and philosophy of science, and sociological and cultural practices of the science classroom.

Projects - Current and Past

• Noticing and Responding to Scientific Sense-Making (NRSS) (2013- present). Documenting and defining a range of beginning elementary teacher practices for noticing and responding to students' scientific sense-making and contextual factors that impact their practices to determine how these practices open, maintain, or shut down opportunities for student sense-making.

Baek, H. & Schwarz, C. (2015). The Influence of Curriculum, Instruction, Technology, and Social Interactions on Two Fifth-Grade Students’ Epistemologies in Modeling Throughout a Model-Based Curriculum Unit. The Journal of Science Education and Technology, 24(2-3), 216-233.

For more information about the analysis of the entire data set from two teachers' classes as well as further elaboration on causal connections between the curriculum and learning outcomes, see the technical paper entitled, "Developing a Model-Centered Approach to Science Education."